This invention relates to throw bag type lifeline rescue devices, and more particularly to a lifeline throw bag apparatus arranged to be attached to and worn with the safety gear apparel worn by military and rescue personnel and provide an emergency extrication apparatus that advantageously combines a throw bag lifeline and a rappelling carabiner into a single, wearable unit for emergency use by an injured or trapped personnel in situations which require his expedient extrication or escape from an immediately dangerous scene.
Throw bag type lifelines have been provided heretofore and typically have provided rather large, bulky cord-containing bags provided as rescue equipment kept in boats, at swimming areas and the like and which, while holding onto the free end of the lifeline cord, a person can throw the bag toward a swimmer in trouble who typically must then attempt to get to the bag and grab onto it whereupon the thrower of the bag then pulls the person to safety, much as in the case of the long recognized rope-tethered life rings thrown to people at risk in the water. Such typical throw bag lifeline arrangements are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,713,033 (Cameron); U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,815 (Spurgeon) and U.S. Pat. No. 6,257,942 (Groover). All of these devices teach arrangements which are stored away until needed; thrown by a rescuer to a person in need of assistance; and rely on the accuracy of the thrower and the effort and ability of the victim to obtain and hold onto the thrown bag and lifeline when being pulled to safety. Such devices, even though they suffer the shortcoming of relying on the capabilities of the victim, do provide a valuable utility in public areas and situations where their use is rare and intended for providing general safety equipment for any person in that area needing assistance.
However, as is well known, various personnel, particularly those engaged in high risk occupations, may easily and unexpectedly find themselves in extremely dangerous and precarious situations at a moment""s unexpected notice. Military personnel may be shot or otherwise injured during battlefield exchanges or movements, as may also paramilitary personnel such as police, swat or assault teams in the course of their duties. Firefighters and other rescue personnel may find themselves trapped in precarious locations high above ground after other avenues of exit have been cut off, or those exits themselves have become a more dangerous escape route than even an unplanned rappel down the outside of a building or other height.
In a situation where a soldier or a police officer might be injured and downed by gunfire for example, it is easy to recognize that it is of paramount importance that the injured man be removed from the line of fire at the immediate scene not only for his need for treatment, but also to remove him from the peril of additional gunshot injury or death. But, by the same token, in coming to his aid to drag the injured man to safety, his rescuers place themselves into the very same, extremely dangerous and vulnerable position of being shot and injured or killed themselves in the effort.
Obviously therefore, very important benefits will be achieved by the provision of anything that can help facilitate the extrication of an injured or trapped individual in any such situation and particularly so if it also assists in reducing or avoiding the need for the exposure of rescuers to the extreme danger of that immediate scene during the extrication of the injured man to a safer location.
In its basic concept, this invention provides a personal throw bag lifeline rescue apparatus in the form of a lifeline-containing pouch which is arranged to be attached in quick release fashion to the wearing apparel of rescue and military personnel with the free terminal end of the lifelined being securely attached to the safety apparel of the wearer whereby in an emergency, the throw bag may be grasped and immediately pulled from its releasable attachment to the wearer and thrown, carried or otherwise moved to a remote location where another person may grab the lifeline and pull the person to safety by virtue of the fixed securement of the lifeline to the safety harness or other safety apparel worn by the personnel from whom the throw bag had been removed.
It is by virtue of the basic concept that the principal objective of this invention is achieved; namely, the provision of a personal wearable throw bag lifeline rescue apparatus arranged to assist and facilitate the wearer""s emergency removal from a dangerous situation.
Another object and advantage of this invention is the provision of a personal wearable throw bag lifeline rescue apparatus of the class described which removably secures the opposite terminal end of the lifeline to the interior of the throw bag through a snap ring such as a carabiner secured removably within the confines of the throw bag, whereby to permit use of the lifeline and carabiner, separated from the throw bag, for repelling use of the lifeline and carabiner if required in an emergency situation.
Another object of this invention is the provision of a personal, wearable throw bag lifeline rescue apparatus of the class described in which the throw bag is formed of an inherently buoyant material, such as closed cell neoprene, for advantageous use by divers and water rescue personnel.
A still further object of this invention is the provision of a personal wearable throw bag lifeline rescue apparatus of the class described which is of simplified construction for economical manufacture.
The foregoing and other objects and advantages of this invention will appear from the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings of a preferred embodiment.